Texas Christian UniversityInstitute of Behavioral ResearchUnited States of America

Date Published:

2000

Page Count:

31

Annotation:

Baseline and prospective during-treatment data were collected from a serial cohort of 429 felony probationers remanded to a 6-month modified therapeutic community in Texas in 1998 to assess the impact of drug treatment.

Abstract:

Results demonstrated drug abuse was only one of many problems presented at treatment entry. Most probationers were clinically dependent on alcohol (56 percent) or cocaine (70 percent), were chronically unemployed (50 percent), and had a history of psychiatric problems. These problems included serious depression (47 percent), anxiety (42 percent), trouble controlling violent thoughts (26 percent), and suicide ideation (20 percent) or attempts (16 percent). Drug abuse treatment had a measurable impact on the psychosocial functioning of the probationers. Notable examples of significant improvements in measures of psychological well-being included increasingly positive feelings of self-esteem and self-confidence and reduced symptoms of depression. Of the 429 probationers, 69 percent remained in the therapeutic community the entire 6 months and successfully graduated. Dropping out of the program early was related to higher levels of pre-treatment deficits, such as unemployment, mental health issues, hostility, and more extensive criminal histories. Implications of the findings for correctional substance abuse programs are discussed. 81 references, 3 tables, and 1 figure

* A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents
not available online, a link to the publisher's web site is provided.

Find in a Library

You have clicked
. A title search of
WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click
"Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain
active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.